


tell me why

by notsaoirseronan



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Coming Out, Father-Daughter Relationship, M/M, Secret Marriage, Secret Relationship, Stanley Uris Lives, reddie daughter, there's a lot of cursing, this is the future yall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-16
Updated: 2019-10-16
Packaged: 2020-12-17 16:27:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21057449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notsaoirseronan/pseuds/notsaoirseronan
Summary: Richie and Eddie were excellent at keeping secrets. They'd been together since they graduated and got married once gay marriage was legalised. But no one knew, and they preferred it that way. It was fun, sneaking around like teenagers, even though they were both in their forties.So when Mike calls and says that IT is back. Well, fuck.





	tell me why

Eddie woke up to two things. First, his husband making voices at their daughter. Second, his phone buzzing. The number looked familiar.  
"Hello?" He picked up.  
"Eddie, it's Mike. Do you remember?" It took a few seconds, but the two dots connected in his brain.  
"Oh! Mike, hi. Sorry, I just woke up,"  
"It's fine. Look, Pennywise is back," And with those words, his heart dropped to his stomach. So did his phone, but that's irrelevant.  
"Hello? Eddie, are you still there?" Richie chose that moment to enter the room, Molly hot on his heels. She had a strong resemblance to Richie, with the thick dark hair, green eyes and almost identical glasses. She also stole his horrible shirts that should never have seen the light of day.  
"Let's leave him alone," Richie said, once he saw his facial expression.

"I'm still here," Eddie responded flatly. He half-listened to Mike's explanation and that they were all going to meet at The Jade Orient, writing everything down hastily on a piece of paper.  
"You still in contact with Richie?"  
"Uh, yeah, sure. We talk sometimes,"  
"Can you tell him? About the whole thing?"  
"Yeah, ok, no problemo," He said, hanging up.

He was shaking, rubbing his palms against his face nervously.  
"Rich?" He called out. Richie's footsteps approached rapidly.  
"It's back. Pennywise is back on his bullshit," He said. Richie's face fell, a green hue appearing across his face.  
"I can't face him again, Eds. We have a daughter. What if we both die? Who will take care of her?" Eddie stood up and took his husbands face in his hands.  
"We're not going to die. We'll do our part in preparing for the battle. But neither of us will die, Rich,"

It took some time, but Eddie managed to calm Richie down and explain the whole thing to their daughter. She was 15, so she understood everything, adding in a few 'gross' whenever Eddie mentioned his broken arm, greywater, or anything related to Pennywise's appearance.  
"Can I come with you?" She asked. Eddie and Richie exchanged looks.  
"Absolutely not. We're going to fight a killer fucking clown, Molly, no way,"  
"How old were you when you first fought it?"  
"Uh, like 13?" Richie looked at his husband for confirmation.  
"Oh, okay, so it's okay for you to get emotionally scarred when you're thirteen, but when I'm fifteen and I've been through so many goddamn families, you say no?"

They argued for a while, which mostly involved debating. They didn't raise their voices too much since that made the dog go batshit. But eventually, they managed to convince her that it was a shitty idea. There was nothing fun to do, and Pennywise could show up anywhere.

Once they arrived in Derry, they immediately checked into the Inn and drove straight to the restaurant.   
"Let's see how long it takes before they realise we're married," Eddie suggested as they drove into the parking lot. Richie nodded, grinning like an idiot. 

They entered the restaurant to everyone else already there, Beverly drinking a beer. Richie saw a gong standing to the side.  
"I'm gonna hit it,"  
"Don't you fucking dare,"   
He hit it. Everyone's attention was immediately pulled to them.  
"Wassup fuckers," He said, shoving his hands into his pockets. There was an awkward silence.  
"Alcohol," Bill suggested. Everyone made noises of approval and ordered drinks. It took a few drinks, but they soon fell into their old dynamic.

"Wait, Eddie, you're married?" Stan questioned, pointing to the ring on his finger.  
"What? Oh, yeah," Eddie rubbed his fingers against the ring, an old habit that never died.  
"To a woman?" Richie butted in.  
"Go fuck yourself, Tozier,"  
"Rich, you married?" Mike asked.  
"Yep, me and Mrs K are very happy together," Bill choked on his beer. Beverly shoved more food into her mouth to avoid making a comment. Eddie put his chopsticks down and made a whole show of flipping Richie off, finishing by flicking his face.

They just acted normally except they didn't hold hands or kiss. Anyone should've seen their marriage from miles away, but luckily, the Losers weren't that observant. Seriously. Richie decided to test the limit when he and Eddie arm-wrestled.  
"We should just straight up take our shirts off and kiss," He said loudly. His husband snorted, losing the match.  
"C'mon dude, not fair. You threw him off his game," Ben pointed out.  
"Haystack, let me tell you how the world works," Richie began.  
"Oh, sweet suffering Jesus, no,"

So they were attacked by fortune cookies. Big deal. Richie and Eddie were getting increasingly happy leaving their daughter back in New York. She'd hate this thing. The old small-town charm wasn't for her. She was comfortable with the constant buzzing of the city that never sleeps. Molly was a New-Yorker. Through and through.

They hadn't gotten separate rooms since they felt that was a waste of money. Clearly, they didn't think it through, since Bev noticed they walked into the same room, then promptly shut the door. She contemplated checking in on them, but she decided against it. They shouldn't be disturbed.

They didn't fuck. Because fucking in a hotel is something for horny teenagers who can't get away from their parents. It's not that classy. Not that they had class, but they tried to have some decency.  
That being said, they did make out. Man, being back in your hometown and remembering what a repressed gay you were, it brings out something in you. It was fun to sneak around as they did as kids.

Who knew that the way to defeat an evil space clown was to bully it to death? If they knew that when they were kids, it would've been so much easier. Richie was glad he got to call Pennywise a sloppy bitch, but he did get caught in the deadlights. So there were side effects.  
Not that he remembered how he got released.  
"Richie, I think we did it! I think we killed it," His husband stood in front of him, grinning like an idiot. But Richie wasn't smiling as he shoved him out of the way. Seconds later, a giant claw thing sprouted. It would've impaled Eddie if Richie hadn't rescued him.

Holy fuck.

They didn't care that they were in a cave. They didn't care how disgusting their surroundings were. And for a moment of bliss, they were the only people in the world, as Eddie grabbed Richie's face and pulled him close, kissing him deeply.  
"What the fuck?" Oh yeah, people were there. People who didn't know of their marriage.  
"You took the words right out of my mouth, Stan," Bill said. The rest of the group remained silent, afraid to react.  
Why, Staniel, Eduardo here is my one true love," Richie explained.  
"Aren't you both married?"  
"Again, my one true love,"

The dots connected.

"Oh! I'm so happy for you! When did you tie the knot?" Mike asked.  
"When it was legalised in Massachusetts. Couldn't wait for the statewide legalisation," Eddie said.  
"Oh fuck me, we need to call Molly!"   
"Molly?"  
"Our daughter. We left her with her friend. We haven't called her for-" He checked his watch. "Two days, seven hours and fifteen minutes,"

They called her the moment they got out of the cave thing. She was alright. She and Sarah had binged a bunch of shitty romcoms, and they were slowly making it through Lord of the Rings, which, Molly claimed, was a love story. It was about the love that Frodo and Sam had for each other. You just had to decide whether or not it was romantic. Yep, she was doing just fine.

Eddie and Richie invited the rest of the group out for celebratory drinks, in celebration of IT never returning. They were not going to fight Pennywise at age seventy. That's just not logical.  
They drank happily, and it was as if the giant scar of trauma was gone. They joked around like normal friends. Even a 'your mom' joke thrown in here and there for good measure. It was good. Life was good.


End file.
